Stand Tall
by DimensionBlade 1.2
Summary: Jaune never wanted to be a Huntsman. Now, he's thrust into a situation that he couldn't possibly avoid, now he's stuck in the community he refused in the first place. "This was supposed to be Joan's job, not mine. I was never meant to be a warrior, but I don't suppose I have a choice now, do I?" (New chapter is out)
1. But

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

Chapter 1: But...

 _10 years ago..._

A whistle was heard as young Jaune, the Arc's first-born son swung his sword and single-handedly ripped apart a practice dummy that had survived generations of training in the family. His parents eyes widened at their son's natural strength and talent.

Jaune's blonde hair slightly hung in his face as he looked down at his practice sword before glancing over at his sister.

"Jaune." His father said excitably, "You are on your way to becoming the best huntsman Remnant has ever seen. If we keep on training, we can make sure of it." He exclaimed proudly.

Joan, his twin sister sat idly by with a wide smile, proud of her brother. She had practically the same features as Jaune, only sporting longer hair and softer edges to her face.

"No. Joan would be a better warrior. I'm sure of it!" Jaune said unexpectedly as he rushed over to his sister and thrusted the practice sword into her hands, she stared at it with wide eyes before looking back up at her older brother. "I'm not cut out for this, but Joan has everything she needs. Dad, train her!"

"But Jaune, you have so much potentia–"

"Joan has _more_!" Jaune argued.

The Arc family was quite confused that day. Their eldest child, their pride and joy, their first-born son, had refused to become a Huntsman.

* * *

 _4 years ago..._

"Mom, Dad! I got accepted, I got accepted!" Joan cheered as she ran into the kitchen. "I'm going to Signal!"

The parents congratulated their daughter as her father picked her up into his arms and swung her around. "Oh, I'm so proud of you Joan. You'll go far." His voice was tender and warm, Henry Arc seemed to have not aged a day since his days in Beacon.

"It's all thanks to your training, Dad." Joan smiled.

Footsteps could be heard from behind them as Jaune and their three other children rushed in. "Joan! I heard from upstairs! You made it!" Jaune said excitedly as he pulled her into a hug. She smiled into his shoulder before answering.

"I did, but you know. It's not too late to send in another application."

"Why would you need another application?" Jaune wondered before his place was taken by Jeanne, Catherine, Lynn, and Mia, all 11, 9, 7, and 5 respectively.

"Sis, we're so glad you made it." Jeanne stated.

"So Mom and us got you something!" Catherine and added. They all ran out of the room for a moment before returning with their mother, Margaret, with a large black case.

Joan's eyes widened before hiding behind Jaune and screaming in fear, "You're going to bury me!?"

Margaret laughed at her child's antics before reassuring her, "No, no. This is a present from us to you, sweetheart." placing the case on the table, they removed the lid to reveal a weapon. A sword with a blue wrapped hilt inside of a white sheath with gold detailing.

Her mother took the weapon out and placed it into Joan's hands, helping her strap the sheath to her hand before expanding it into a shield. "It's name is Crocea Mors. It's a family heirloom that has seen many battles throughout the centuries, and now, we pass it to you."

"T-this is great and all, but..." Joan started. "I think Jaune should also apply to Signal!"

Everyone raised their eyebrows a bit before looking at Jaune, "Big bro can fight?" Jeanne asked.

"No, Jeanne. I can't. And I've told you Joan, I don't want to be a Huntsman." He stated warmly, patting Jeanne's head.

"But what about that time you got into that fight at scho–" Lynn started before Jaune smacked a hand over her mouth, slowly glancing over to his mother to see her hovering right next to him.

"Jaune...what is this I'm hearing about just now...?" Margaret questioned with fluctuation in her voice that made her sound slightly demonic.

"Renji started it, _thatisall_ , bye!" Jaune quickly blurted out before making a dash for his room. His mother in tow, not far behind.

Henry let out a hearty laugh before calling them both back, "Marge, Jaune, we're taking a family photo to celebrate Joan's acceptance to Signal!"

A slight, "coming" could be heard from upstairs before they both came down and lined up next to the family at the kitchen table with a camera on timer, tallest on the sides and shortest in the middle. The order from left to right being: Margaret, Jaune, Jeanne, Catherine, Mia, Lynn, Joan, Henry.

"Oh, and one more thing Henry, I'm pregnant." Margaret announced, resulting in them all having quite entertaining faces for the photo.

* * *

 _Present day._

"My family is a bit of a hand-full, but most of them are tolerable. I just hope they don't embarrass me too much..."

"Don't worry about it Joan. I'm sure we can handle your family." Pyrrha said supportingly.

"Aww, but I wanted to hear funny stories about your childhood. And the secret to your pancakes..." Nora added.

"Nora..." Ren sighed.

"Hehe, ok Ren."

"Where's Team RWBY?" Joan wondered.

"I'm here!" Ruby exclaimed. "Blake and Weiss are in the bathroom, Yang is asleep over there." she informed, promptly pointing over to the huddle in the corner of the bullhead.

The bullhead landed in the front of a small town that was inhabited by humans and faunus alike, all living as neighbors and friends, no discrimination whatsoever.

"Well, everyone. Welcome to Kiona. As you know, a village located just by the edge of Atlas, almost unknown, and a safe haven for many." Joan said with a happy breath out.

A lone figure could be seen running towards the bullhead, as he drew closer, they could see it was a man with blonde hair. He was slightly built, had blue eyes similar to Joan, was wearing a black and orange hoodie, blue jeans and black converse. He seemed a bit sweaty, as his hair slightly stuck to his face and was rather disheveled.

"Hey Joan!" He called out as he got closer. Yang slowly woke to the voice as Blake and Weiss exited the bathroom. Jaune seemed to stand half a foot taller than Joan, despite looking very similar to her, "Everyone is getting ready to welcome you back, so they sent me. Sorry if I'm a bit gross right now, I was in the middle of something." He smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.

"Joan, who is this?" Ruby asked from behind her, slightly peeking out at the man.

"Oh, everybody. I don't supposed I've mentioned him, this is my twin brother. Jaune."

"Nice to meet you," He seemed to be nervous under their gaze, "I'm Jaune, thanks for being nice to my sister. She's told me a lot about you guys. Come on, I'll show you the way." He turned around and waved them over. They followed a few feet behind as Joan began to be questioned.

"Why didn't you tell us you had a twin!?"

"Can _he_ cook too?"

"Does your brother go to a different academy?"

"Who's the older twin?"

"Is he single?"

They all stopped with that last question. "Yaaannng." Ruby complained.

"What? It's a serious question!" Yang tried to defend herself while failing to hold in a laugh.

They all became a bit self-aware as they saw people whispering about them, more about Jaune than them.

 _"Why are they with_ Jaune _?"_

 _"Who are they?"_

 _"Do you think they're with Joan?"_

 _"Let's lighten up, we'll see soon, right?"_

It made them a bit insecure, but gave them an idea of how closely knit this community was.

This was going to be one hell of a visit.

* * *

 **A bit of a messy start, but this was more for just introducing the idea and characters.**

 **The story will kick off a bit more in the next chapter, I promise. Please leave a review with what you think, and hopefully follow/favorite as you see fit.**

 **-Dimension 1.2.**


	2. Collapse

**I am honestly surprised with the massive amount of feedback I received with this story. I mostly just wrote it up to prove a point to one of my internet friends, and now everyone is thirsty for more, so here we go, I guess.**

 **To address the "length" problem. The first chapter was basically just an introduction, so I will be making the chapters longer from now on.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

Chapter 2: Collapse

Joan and the others followed the tuft of blonde hair that stuck out through the crowd, they were obviously approaching a rather large house near the center of town. They wove their way through the sea of merchants, gossipers and playing children, trying their best to keep up with Jaune's pace.

Finally, they reached the large structure as Jaune turned around to talk again.

"Well, this is it. Joan, you can take it from here right?" Jaune asked with a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, sure. Do you have somewhere to be?" asked Joan. "You were never a socialite, did I miss something over the past few months."

"You're always missing stuff Joan. That's why we never gave you a gun." Jaune joked as he ruffled her hair a bit. Joan whined a bit. "In any case, I've gotta get back to work. It's not easy supporting a family of 9 after all. Dinner is at 7, make sure your friends don't get mauled. Usually, that's my job, but since you're back..."

"Yeah, yeah. Duty as the eldest. I get it." Joan rolled her eyes.

"You're one to talk, you look like you got 2 years younger since you went to Beacon. See you soon, Joan." Jaune gave one last smile before disappearing into the crowd.

Joan turned around to see half of her friends watching her and Jaune's interaction while the other half was standing in awe at the large house.

"You need a lot of room for two parents and 8 children." Joan mentioned jokingly as she approached the hunters in training. The house was two stories high with a basement level underground. The outside was painted white and seemed to glow and light up the village.

The interior could only be seen through the slight view of the windows, every so room would be painted a different color while the family rooms were painted white. As they were led in by Joan, the teams could only wonder how much it took to pay for this home.

Two balls of blonde energy shot down the stairs as the teens watched in awe. The slightly shorter one could be seen holding up a male doll that was also blonde, the taller of the two seemed flustered and was yelling constant complaints of "give it back" and "stop!".

As they ran by, Joan grabbed the figure out of the smaller child's hand and held it up where neither of them could reach. Getting a better look at it, they could all see it very much resembled Jaune. Joan looked down at the taller blonde, Lynn, who seemed very embarrassed.

"Lynn, why do you have a Jaune doll?" wondered Joan.

"W-well. For art class, the teacher told us to make a doll of the person we look up to most. I started to make dad, but ended up making Jaune instead." Lynn responded with red now very evident on her cheeks.

"Lynn was saying bad things while playing with the doll earlier!" the smaller blonde, Lynn, blurted.

"What? What kind of bad things?" Joan asked, turning back to Lynn.

"It w-was n-nothing!" Lynn tried to defend herself as Mia continued.

"She was holding the doll and making weird sounds, saying in a deeper voice, 'Lynn, I love you' before saying back 'Jaune, we can't we're brother and sis–" Mia was cut off as Lynn slapped a hand over her mouth with her face red hot.

Joan and the others were speechless as Joan placed the doll back in Lynn's hands before pulling her two sisters to the side. Leaving her friends to wonder what the rest of the family was like.

A young woman came downstairs in jeans and a loose-fitting long sleeve shirt, upon seeing the teens, she exclaimed, "Oh! You must be Joan's friends. I heard you were coming. Oh, where's Joan, I haven't seen her in forever. Please, make yourselves at home, you can leave your stuff in the rooms down to the left here."

"Thank you, Miss. Joan is talking with her siblings over there." Pyrrha said before gesturing towards the other side of the room.

"Oh, thank you. You must be Pyrrha, Joan talks about you all the time. Please do join us for dinner at seven, I'm Joan's mother, Margaret. Once again, please do make yourselves at home."

Margaret went over to greet her daughter as the hunters in training made their way to the guest rooms. Finding 4 doors at the end of the hallway, each room containing one bed plenty of room for two people. The walls were painted white and the sheets were light blue. A desk was placed in one of the corners of each room with a lamp on it.

"So, I suppose we should decide sleeping arrangements now?" Ren asked.

"Sure. So since there's 7 of us, Ren can sleep alone, Pyrrha can room with Nora, Ruby with Weiss and Blake with me." Yang suggested.

"Sounds good." Ruby replied.

"Aww, I don't get to be with Renny?" Nora complained.

"No, I like this arrangement. I'll start getting prepared now." Ren announced quickly before dashing into the closest room, a lock could be heard behind him.

They each chose their rooms and began to unpack as Joan reunited with each of her sisters.

* * *

"Joan, so can you kick massive butt now!?"

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Are you getting bullied?"

"Do you have any funny stories about your teammates?"

Joan was bombarded with questions from her sisters as she sat and took them all in.

"Please, one at a time. I can hardly think with all of you asking at once." Joan stated.

"Sorry Sis..." Jeanne apologized.

"No it's fine, Jeanne. Now to answer your questions. I've _always_ been able to kick butt. No, I don't have a boyfriend. I'm not getting bullied, and I have _tons_ of funny stories about my teammates."

* * *

 _With Jaune_

"Hey, Jaune. How's the shop holdin' up?" The owner of the shop came from the back to greet Jaune at the front. He was an older man, nearly retired with his kids traveling all about, his wife in the hospital and only running this shop as a hobby.

"It's fine, only had 3 to 4 customers so far though."

"I heard your sister is back in town, have you seen her yet?"

"Yeah, I met her as she got off the bullhead. Had tons of friends too." Jaune smiled.

"That's nice. You know, I haven't seen _my_ daughter in two years now. She's all off, traveling the world, making new discoveries."

"That's what she always wanted though. I remember talking about it with her when I was in my first year of middle school."

"Isla was always such a free spirit. So considerate. So much like her mother..."

"Come on, Tom. Why don't you pay your wife a visit. I can hold down the shop for you." Jaune suggested.

"No, no. You have a sister to see to. You're off for today, Jaune."

"Ok. Thanks Tom. I'll pay your Marie a visit sometime. I'm sure your wife gets lonely up there."

"Thank you, Jaune. Have a good night now."

Jaune hung up his shop jacket and began to grab his stuff when Tom asked.

"How's your forging going, Jaune?"

Jaune paused for a minute, "I wasn't aware that you knew."

"Oh please, what else could you be doing. A family of warriors, going into the warehouse alone. You definitely don't go in there just to 'relieve' yourself."

"Your sharp mind will never go away with age, will it Tom?"

"You better hope it doesn't. Oh, one more thing. An early birthday gift, from me to you."

"Really? That isn't for another few weeks. What is it?"

"Well, my son has always had that 'hunter' mentality. Has become quite adept at shining up tools and making new ones. Thought I'd offer you one of his 'projects', to inspect and go off of." Tom said as he pulled out a large box from a closet behind the counter. He laid it out across the bar before gesturing Jaune over.

With a few clicks of the latches, the box's lid popped right open. Revealing to them a singular black and gold handgun.

Jaune looked to Tom, who nodded to him. He reached inside of the box and ran his hand against the large handgun. A glossy black on the huge barrel, black leather for the handle, gold trigger and magazine, lots of detailing as well. The gun was .50 caliber, easily. 56 metal bullets were in the box along with 7 dust rounds of varying types. All .50 caliber.

"Tom...this is..."

"It's name is Lox Magnus. Flick the safety." Tom stated.

Jaune picked it up with gentle hands before hitting the safety as instructed. The gun started to shift in his hand, eventually becoming a black and gold double-bladed dagger. It had a slight pommel, a cross-guard and a triangular blade. The blade was gold while the hilt was black.

"Thanks, Tom. I couldn't be happier. This'll definitely help me in my works."

"Yeah, yeah. But if somebody asks, you didn't get it from me."

"Haha. Right. Have a nice night Tom."

And with that, Jaune slid Lox Magnus into a holster in it's gun form. The holster wrapped around his waist and the gun stayed snugly behind him, not easy to pickpocket without him noticing immediately.

It was perfect.

* * *

"Mom, I'm home." Jaune called out into his house, his eyes immediately darted to the kitchen door. Whatever was on the other side was making an awful amount of noise. Nothing good could ever come out of what was going on in there, and he was definitely going to regret checking.

He slowly made his way to the kitchen door, pausing slightly and staring at it for a moment. The door somehow felt larger than it was supposed to be, like he was shrinking under the pressure of what he would find on the other side.

Hesitantly, he reached out to push the door open when–

 ***Crash***

The door swung open, hitting him with the force of a thousand tanks falling on him...then exploding. He was sent straight into the opposite wall, making a 'Jaune-Shaped' imprint on it, knocking him unconscious.

Great way to start off the night.

* * *

"Nora! _What did you do!?_ Joan's voice was in an obvious panic.

"Um...I opened a door?" She responded sheepishly.

"You knocked my brother out cold!"

"It's only _one_ brother."

"He's my _only_ brother!"

"Really?"

"Nora!"

"Ok, ok, sorry..."

Joan let out a heavy sigh, collapsing onto the couch.. She looked over at her twin's unconscious body laid out on opposite couch. She rubbed her temples as she tried to sort everything out in her head, when she opened her eyes, all of her friends had gone off, not wanting to face anymore of her wrath.

"Hey, Joan." A quiet voice greeted her. She looked up from her relaxed position to see her brother struggling to stand up from the couch. She immediately was at his side helping him up, he offered her a smile before asking, "So, I'm guessing something bad happened?"

"I'm ashamed to admit that this sort of thing happens a lot more often than you would think." She breathed out.

Jaune chuckled slightly at this, "You have great friends. Don't ever forget that, and never take it for granted." Joan looked up at Jaune, thinking about how mature he's become, "The same can be said about my cooking, tell your friends that dinner will be soon!" Jaune walked off.

"Ughh, you _always_ ruin the moment." Joan groaned before laughing, "Thanks, Jaune." She whispered before rushing off to find her friends.

* * *

All of the many people in the Arc household were soon gathered in the dining room, extra chairs were brought out to accompany the many guests that they had.

"Oh, it's like having 7 more children." Margaret gushed.

"Honey...please...no." Henry was getting a migraine just thinking about it.

The idle conversation was pleasant throughout the meal, the siblings joked and asked somewhere between 100,000 and 1,000,000 questions. The Arc Parents didn't hesitate to tease the teens at every available moment, Jaune seemed to be enjoying himself too, but he was a bit uneasy.

"I'm going to be excusing myself first." He stood up from his chair and brought his dish to the sink.

"But Jauneyyyyy..." The youngest girl complained.

"Jaune, we have guests." His mother tried to reason.

"Don't worry, I just want to check on something. I'll be back before curfew." He said before throwing on his hoodie and rushing out the door, giving them all an eye-full of gold on his belt.

They all looked at each other before Pyrrha asked, "I...don't suppose he had that earlier...did he?"

"No, he definitely didn't. We should follow him."

"Joan." Henry said sternly. They all stopped in their tracks and glanced back at the man, "There's something coming, I want you and your friends to stay here and protect your sisters."

"And what about you and mom?!" Joan exclaimed.

The left wall opened up and two weapons came from it, a white claymore and a golden spear. "We're going to make sure the village stays safe. I'm sure Jaune sensed it too."

With a nod, the parents made their way out as the students were lost as to what they should do.

* * *

 _With Jaune_

"There's something wrong here. There's definitely something wrong here." Jaune muttered to himself as he made his way to the edge of the village. As he got closer to the wall, he burst into a full sprint, planting a foot on the wall and boosting himself on top of the wall.

He squinted to try to make out what the small cloud of black in the distance was.

"Grimm." Two voices said from behind him. He turned to look back to the two retired hunters, his parents. "We'll take care of this, Jaune."

"No, you'll hold them off. I'll take care of this." Jaune said. They look at him confusedly. "Grimm are attracted by negative emotions, I'll find the source in town and try to do something about it. It's only small grimm right now, I think I can take care of it before this escalates."

They offer him a nod before speeding into battle.

He lets out a breath before turning and rushing back into town, making sure to check on everyone in town, they all pointed him towards something going on in the village square.

They were here again, they came every once and a while trying to recruit members. Trying to sway our people into betraying each other and joining their cause.

The White Fang.

The people in town _know_ that The White Fang are terrorists, they wouldn't listen to a word they say, they know better.

Wait, the grunt has a different target audience this time, this can't be good. The bastard is influencing the young. He's trying to brainwash them from a young age.

"Grimm are on their way here. We need to focus our efforts on defending the village. Come on!" Jaune reasoned.

"My people, this human is trying to _use_ us as _bait_ for the grimm. The council is corrupt, as are the humans. We deserve rights, we deserve equality. We deserve **revolution**!" The grunt yelled.

Cheers broke out as they all began to target him.

"Son of a–"

* * *

 _Back at the household_

"Guys, I think something's happening." Ruby said as she gestured for them to look out of the windows.

Just as they did, the walls of the village collapsed, leaving rubble to stain the ground and the grimm stormed in. Blake's eyes widened as she saw the scene at the square.

Jaune was trying to dodge a bunch of attacks from White Fang operatives and young teenagers that had listened to what the terrorists had to say.

The students immediately rushed outside and the White Fang immediate retreated at the sight of them, running into the nearby woods, with the children following.

Jaune kneeled on the ground, slowly standing up as he began to run towards the border, towards his parent's last location. The teens quickly followed him as they ran towards the wave of grimm, the White Fang would have to wait.

Jaune pulled out Lox Magnus and began unloading a round into any grimm that stood in his way, the others dispatched any other grimm and kept all of the villagers safe. Joan had stayed in the house to protect her siblings along with Pyrrha, but all the others were with Jaune.

The blonde boy quickly jumped over the collapsed wall and began calling out, "Mom! Dad! Where are you!?"

A low cough caught his attention as he looked over to see a dead old man, standing over his body was a fully grown deathstalker.

"W-what. These things don't come around here…" He quickly shook it off and began engaging it. The others helped him in taking down the high-level grimm.

Yang went straight in, delivering a powerful blow to it's front, stunning it for a second as she as and Nora both smashed one of the claws to the side. Blake and Ren began shooting straight for the eyes as Ruby and Jaune shot at the stinger.

The deathstalker was checkmated, and was quickly immobilized before being loudly put down by Nora.

More ursa and beowolves emerged, they quickly engaged, hoping to kill them before anymore damage was done. The battle was long and hard, but as the White Fang got away, it seemed the wave of grimm also thinned down.

Jaune collapsed to his knees, being exhausted, not used to this level of combat.

Just as he lifted his head, he saw white...stained red. His eyes widened as he scrambled towards the ripped cloth. The others quickly noticed him moving again and went to catch up to him.

The white was just barely visible underneath a collapsed building, with a final burst of adrenaline, Jaune lifted the rubble above his head and tossed it to the side.

It was his father, badly wounded and bloody. He was on his hands and knees, under him was the unconscious form of his mother.

"Mom! Dad!" He yelled as he pulled them both close before laying them on the ground.

Tears threatened to fall as he saw their bad condition.

"Y-your...your mother. S-she's going...to be fine...Jaune…." Henry forced out. "We...we took down a couple nevermores and deathstalkers–" He coughed up blood. "We just didn't expect the aftermath."

"No. No, this can't be happening. Dad, we need to heal you, where's the medkit!" Jaune yelled over his shoulder as the students were struggling to find anything that could possibly help.

"It's...too late...for me Jaune." Henry gasped in air. "I never...told you your semblance...did I?"

Jaune shook his head, his tears falling onto the soiled ground.

"It's...inheritence. You, you have the power to transfer power. With that...the transfer of power means the death of the source. Seeing as I'm like this...Jaune...I want you to transfer my power to yourself."

"No. Dad...this wasn't supposed to happen."

"Jaune...I know. You...you never wanted this. But it's time you awaken to your potential. Please."

Jaune squeezed his eyes shut as he pressed a hand to his father's chest.

"Good...now." They both began to glow bright white.

Jaune felt the surge of energy immediately, it was like he had internally combusted. In an instant, it was over, and his father's limp body fell. With a soft smile still on his father's face.

Jaune didn't want to look over to the others, he simply said, "Get to news to my sisters, bring my mom back to the house...I just need a moment." He reached up and brushed the tears out of his eyes, looking down at his father.

The others picked up Margaret and began going back to the Arc household, with heavy hearts, they promised not to look back at Jaune.

"Dad..." Jaune started. "Thank you...you were a true hero." More tears fell, "I always looked up to you...I wanted to be just like you..." He choked back a sob. "I didn't want to be a huntsman...because I wanted to be like you. I wanted to be able to protect my family from where I am now. Right at home."

Jaune looked up at the sky as his tears slid down his cheeks. "I'll make you proud now, Dad. I'm sorry. I promise, I'll make you proud for once."

With all of it built up in his chest.

Jaune screamed at the sky one last time before he finished his vow. Laying his father across the ground, he gave a small nod before taking off his fathers coat and draping it over the body.

"You'll be remembered...Dad."

Why...why did this have to happen? It was just a normal day...and then...then...

This.

* * *

 **That's all I have for now. Please give me a few suggestions as to how to length is. If you want even longer chapters, I'm going to have to ask you to wait a while for each chapter to release.**

 **I have a set of plans set out for this story and have begun to write a few of them down. I haven't yet decided on what romantic pairs I'll be utilizing in this story, leave some suggestions in the reviews, or just PM me. We can discuss some ideas.**

 **-DimensionBlade 1.2**


	3. Memory

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY...or Amazon.**

Chapter 3: Memory

The day was dark, as if the world knew the tragedy of the day and pain that Jaune Arc could feel at that very moment. The skies showed the boy sympathy as he kneeled before the grave of his late father.

The funeral was attended by every villager left, in sickness and health. He was honored as the hero he truly was, tears were endlessly shed, and the utmost respect was shown.

Soon, the crowd had dispersed, leaving only the man's first child and only son. The boy could only remember all of the times of the past as he closed his eyes, of all the years he had been through, that he wouldn't have made it through if it were not for his family.

Droplets of rain dampened his hair as he thought back, they landed partially on his face, concealing his tears as he remembered. The feeling didn't bother him at all, for he was in another time, in his own mind.

* * *

 _4 years ago_

"Mom! Dad! We're home!" The children called out from the front door as they arrived. They were greeted kindly by their parents before going their separate ways, Mia and Lynn following Jaune to his room, Jeanne and Joan went off together, and Catherine was going to get her homework done early.

Jaune collapsed onto his bed as Mia sat down next to him and Lynn sat backwards in his desk chair. "Jaune, what do you wanna be when you're an adult?" Mia asked him.

"Isn't it a bit early to be asking that? I'm only 13 you know." He responded.

"Aw, come on. You're old enough to have an _idea_." Lynn reasoned.

"Well. I'd be lying if I said I haven't thought about it." Jaune admitted.

"See?" Mia grinned.

"Well. I want to be a protector. Like a huntsman...but exclusive. I want to be able to stay here...right where I grew up. This village is my world, I want to be able to protect it at all times, to be here whenever they need me."

"Don't you need to know how to fight to be a protector?" Lynn smirked.

Jaune sat up and made eye contact with Lynn, putting on a determined face, "Oh please. Your big brother can do _much_ more than he lets on." he stated confidently before looking down and smiling at his youngest sister.

Meanwhile, Lynn's cheeks had lit up red and she was mumbling to herself.

"Jaune, you know. If you just told me that earlier, I would've offered to continue your training alongside Joan." Henry said smugly while leaning on his son's doorframe.

"Ah! Dad! Jeez, if you were there, you should've said something." Jaune complained.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, your old man's a master of stealth. Your training starts at 5:00PM tomorrow. Be ready for it."

Jaune's face lit up, "Roger that, captain!"

* * *

 _3 years ago_

Jaune sat idly on a swing in the park, simply looking out at the bright sunset on the horizon. The sound of chains clinking together alerted him of the company of another person.

"So. Why do you look so dejected?" Jeanne questioned from beside him.

"Well, I was talking to this girl–"

"Oh no..."

"Hey! Do you want me to confide in you or not?"

"Yeah, yeah. Fire away."

"So...I thought she was really nice, right? She seemed like she kinda liked me too. I guess I kinda waited too long, turns out she likes Ryan from down the block now."

"Ah. That's rough."

"I'm over it. It's just kinda sad, seeing as I missed my chance, in a way."

"Don't you worry about that, Bro. You're a _catch_. Trust me, you'll be shipped so fast, you'll put Amazon out of business."

They shared a small laugh before standing up and making their way home. Jaune made sure to treat his little sister to icecream that night for the little "peptalk" she gave him.

* * *

 _2 years ago._

Catherine was in a deep, _deep_ hole.

She tried everything, she seemed to excel, but the stress was catching up. The bane of her existence was bringing her to her knees as she struggled to drill this formula into her head, ' _Class Prodigy' MY ASS!"_ She thought to herself.

Suddenly, something cold touched her cheek, jolting her out of her stupor.

"Gah! What the hell!" She swore as she turned to the direction of the cold object, seeing a hand there, looking up to see her brother grinning like an idiot. "Jaune! I'm trying to concentrate here!"

Jaune was dressed in a heavy coat and scarf, having just come back from the grocery store.

"Yeah, I noticed. You seriously need to relax though, if you overwork yourself, you're never going to remember anything."

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes.

"Fine then, ignore the wise old wizard's advice. One day, you'll learn the truth, and I will be able to shove it in your face and tease you to hell's end." Jaune joked.

"You totally broke character there…."

"That's the point. Now, if you're not going to take a break, how about using a trick to memorizing things."

"What?" She questioned.

"You know, thinking about it a different way. Like the stuff they show you in Elementary."

"It's not that simple."

"It's the order of operations, it is."

"Oh really, how would you go about it then?!"

"PEMDAS."

"Pem-what-now?"

"Parentheses, exponents, multiplication/division, addition/subtraction. P.E.M.D.A.S. It's the order of operations, just an easier way to remember it."

"Pemdas…"

"Yup."

"It was that simple?"

"You think better when you're fed, come on. I'm making dinner tonight."

"...are you making meat and potato stew…?"

"Sure. It's your favorite after all. You need a reward for all that work." Jaune smiled before walking out towards the kitchen.

As she watched his retreating figure, she finally cracked a small smile before turning to her book and closing it. "Maybe I do need a bit of a break." She turned back towards her door, "Hey, Jaune! What can I do to help!?"

* * *

 _Present_

Jaune slowly rose from his kneeling position and lifted up his father's claymore, it hadn't left his side since that day. He slid the large sword into the sheath that was now strapped to his back.

"I'll make you proud, dad. I swear I will." He whispered.

"I've learned a long time ago that you shouldn't make promises you can't keep." A voice cut in, Jaune immediately turned around to face the person that had spoken up, being greeted by a man with white hair, a cane and a green scarf.

"Do you doubt my commitment?" Jaune asks.

"It depends. What do you intend to do?" The man fires back.

"I...I'll become a hunter. I'll apply to Beacon next year, and I'll become a huntsman."

"That's quite the decision."

"It'll be the path that takes me to where I can protect people."

"Ah. Well, Mr. Arc, do you believe in destiny?"

"It depends on how you view it."

"Say destiny is, a final goal. Something you work towards your entire live."

"Then yes."

"How would you like to fulfill your destiny, Mr. Arc?"

"What?"

"I'm asking you, to come to my school."

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure I quite understand."

A blonde woman in a white dress shirt and glasses walked up from behind the man, carrying a riding crop and a serious expression. "You're obviously not aware of who you are speaking to. Mr. Arc, this is Professor Ozpin, the Headmaster of Beacon Academy."

Jaune was speechless, he had no idea he was having a conversation with the Headmaster himself, and he had even mentioned wanting to go to Beacon, how embarrassing. Had Professor Ozpin just invited him to Beacon Academy then?

"Sir, I'm not quite sure I understand."

"Mr. Arc, we are aware of your skills and have no doubt that you are ready to enter our prestigious academy. It is all up to you, whether you choose to or not." The blonde woman informed him.

"It's the middle of the second semester, there's no way I can suddenly enter your academy. I won't have a team, I can't participate in anything that way."

"Mr. Arc. I'm sure you're aware of the dangers of being a Huntsman." Ozpin questioned as Jaune nodded, "There is a freshman team that recently went on a mission. Having faced increasingly difficult challenges, they were able to come back alive. Three of them."

"Three? But teams have..."

"We are willing to admit you to Beacon Academy, and place you in that team, it's all up to you."

"I...don't know. What if they see me as some type of replacement for their friend? I don't think I should be intruding."

"That, is a choice you will have to make. Now, if you excuse me, I have a school to run." Ozpin finished as he began to walk towards a bullhead in the distance.

Jaune watched the Headmaster walk away with the woman before calling out to him one last time, "Headmaster, one more thing!" Ozpin turned around to look at the teenage boy, "An Arc never goes back on his word!"

The Professor simply smiled and mouthed back the words, "I know."

Leaving Jaune in the cemetery with only his thoughts.

 _'I guess I should be heading home now...'_

* * *

 _One Week Later, with Team RWBY and JNPR_

Both teams lazed around after classes, deciding what to do as they had finally finished the grueling week and were free to do what they desired. A sudden knock at the door alerted them of another's presence.

"I'll get it!" Nora yelled as she practically flew across the room, slamming against the door before latching onto the doorknob and pulling it open. The teams were given the sight of a very familiar Arc standing in the doorway as if he was bracing for impact. The 9 teenagers seemed to be locked in a steady gaze before Nora finally yelled out, "Only brother!" before pulling him into an embrace that should've broke his spine.

"H-Hey, guys. I just urk–"

"Nora." Ren simply said.

"Sorry, Ren!" Nora responded, immediately releasing Jaune as he collapsed to the floor.

After a fit of coughing and worried looks, Jaune finally looked up and told them, "Ozpin just transferred me into a team in Beacon."

They were all shocked to receive this information, seeing as it was the middle of the second semester, but seeing as the proof was right in front of them.

"I wasn't aware that there was a team short of one person...or that you were able to transfer in at all." Ren brought up.

"Yeah. What team are you in now?!" Nora questioned enthusiastically.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure what they were called before me, but they we're renamed to Team Crash, after I joined." Jaune answered.

"Crash?" Pyrrha wondered aloud.

"Yeah. C, R, A for Arc, and S. Crash."

There was a moment of silence before Team JNPR's eyes suddenly widened in realization.

"There's no way..." Joan whispered to herself before they heard footsteps coming down the hall along with a familiar voice.

The footsteps came closer as that voice called out, "Jauney boy, what the hell. Where'd you run off to without us?"

"We're supposed to be a team you know." Another voice called.

"Maybe he's just...not used to working as one." A third voice mentioned.

Jaune perked up at the voices and made his way towards the door to lead them to his location. The four other teenagers in the room immediately bolted towards him, Pyrrha and Nora grabbing his arms and pulling him back while Ren and Joan put themselves in between him and the door.

"Guys, what's going on?" Jaune asked with a bit of fear in his voice.

"Jaune, we and your team don't have the best relationship. It's best if you don't let them know that you are associated with us." Ren warned Jaune.

"What do you mean, 'don't have the best relationship'?"

"Team Cardinal used to blackmail Joan because they found out a secret of her's."

Jaune looked surprised for a while before narrowing his eyes at Joan, "And...you never told me?" he sounded almost hurt as his struggle completely went weak and he ceased to resist.

"I...I didn't want you to worry–" Joan started.

"That's why I'm here, Joan!" Jaune suddenly cut her off.

"You're my family. If I can't even protect you. If I can't help you through the tough times, then what good am I? What am I as a brother, letting his sister get pushed around and blackmailed to no end?"

"That's–you're right." Joan avoided eye contact with Jaune as she continued, "I should've told you, I know you worry about me, but I didn't want to cause you stress."

"The stress isn't the problem, Joan. You shouldn't hesitate to tell me anything."

"I know. Thanks, Jaune." Joan concluded.

"In any case, I should get back to my team. I–I'll keep an eye on them. Keep them in line, you know." Jaune wriggled out of the team's dwindled grip before making his way to the door again. "Thanks for taking care of my sister, I really owe you guys." Jaune said happily before making his exit.

The team sat in silence for a while, their minds going over the concept of how Jaune might be influenced while on that Oum-forsaken team.

Finally, Nora decided to break the silence with, "I hope he breaks their legs."

* * *

Jaune's classes started two days after that, he had set up his place in Team CRAS's room and had his locker picked out. Everything seemed to be going fine and Team JNPR had alerted Team RWBY of the Team CRDL situation.

They had found out that he attended a lot of their same classes and that Team CRL seemed a lot quieter, sad even. They would occasionally glance over at Jaune before mumbling to themselves. It was definitely suspicious.

At lunch that day, Jaune almost went to sit with Team RWBY and JNPR, remembering Ren's warning, he decided against it. This was when CRDL seemed like nothing ever changed. Their most popular target was already being harassed while Jaune went to get his food. JNPR and RWBY watched once again, just about to say something, but not wanting to start conflict.

Meanwhile, Jaune looked over at his team from the lunch line. His eyes almost immediately went dark and the small smile vanished as if it was never even there. In place of the rabbit girl being picked on was his sister, the sight of them pulling her hair and laughing lit a flame somewhere in him.

He was also reminded of the White Fang that convinced the Faunus children of his village, how they were turned due to similar treatment. The image of his dad laying under the rubble because of the negativity brought by the White Fang also flew past his mind. In a split second, without even thinking, the metal tray in his hand flew across the room at top speed like a deadly frisbee.

Team RWBY and JNPR caught sight of it, before Pyrrha could even stop the tray it made impact with it's desired target, the back of Cardin's head. Blonde hair rushed across the cafeteria just as Cardin turned around to see who threw the tray.

"Who the hell wa–"

"Let the girl go, Cardin." A voice spoke from right next to him. Cardin turned to be met with the newest member of his team.

"Oh, you want a try?" He asked, slightly tugging on the bunny ear in his hand, a small whimper followed.

"No. Let the girl go, or I'll make you."

"Oh? You'll make me huh?" A smirk grew on Cardin's face before he stood up, standing a few inches above Jaune. His hand still tight on the girl's ear. "And how're you gonna do that Jauney boy."

"We can either do this here and you can risk having me beat you senseless with my bare hands or we can take this to the arena where I can shoot you in the face instead. Your choice." Jaune threatened.

From across the room, Team RWBY and JNPR began to discuss stepping in.

"Jaune hasn't had proper Huntsman training has he?"

"We should go help."

"Ugh."

"Let him handle it." Joan spoke up. They all looked at her like she was crazy, "Jaune doesn't just confront someone for no reason. He wouldn't challenge someone to a fight if he didn't have resolve. He can handle this."

Just as those words left her mouth, Russel and Sky took a step back, giving each other a knowing look. Cardin let go of the ear and immediately slammed his closed fist into Jaune's face. There seemed to be so much power behind the hit, but Jaune's head barely flinched.

"Ok then." The two words seemed to seal a fate, Jaune immediately reached up to grab Cardin's arm, you could see the sleeve of Cardin's shirt crumple and Jaune's veins threatening to tear through his skin. Cardin let out a scream of pain before Jaune smashed Cardin's arm through the table, pulling Cardin's arm out of the newly made hole, he took hold of Cardin's head and jammed it into the table, making cuts across his face as his skull made the table crack more. Russel and Sky began to make a move when Jaune picked up one of the long wooden benches and hit a home run, smashing both students into the far wall, students began to run as they saw this fight become more intense, Team RWBY and JNPR made their move, only to be stopped by an authoritative voice.

"Mr. Arc!" Glynda Goodwitch called out to him.

He immediately dropped the wooden bench to the ground and stared over at Goodwitch as though he hadn't just humiliated 3 Huntsmen in training.

"Already making trouble now, Mr. Arc?" Glynda questioned innocently. Jaune had no words and was about to just accept his punishment when the rabbit girl spoke out.

"He was just doing it because he was trying to protect me!" All eyes shifted towards the brunette bunny as she continued, obviously nervous beneath all of their stares. "These guys were tugging on my ears and making racist jokes against the faunus, he simply stepped in and Cardin started a fight."

"I see, Ms. Scarlatina. Although starting a fight could very well get you a month in detention with me." Jaune shifted nervously underneath Glynda's glare, "Since your intentions were pure and this is your first day. You will get off with your first and _only_ warning." She gave him another sharp look, waiting for his response.

"Thank you, Ms. Goodwitch. I'm sorry for causing trouble."

"Good, but don't expect to get out without punishment. If my memory serves me correct, you have my combat class next period. And I look _oh so_ forward to it."

Jaune let out a groan as Goodwitch quickly repaired the table, bench and wall as well as transporting Team CRS to the infirmary. Team RWBY and JNPR made their way up to him as Velvet was thanking him and he was dismissing all of her thanks with the famous, 'Anyone would've done it', line.

"You know, not accepting a lady's thanks is ungentlemanly, Jaune." Yang teased from behind him. He visibly jolted and concluded his conversation with Velvet, accepting her gratitude after all. As she left, he turned to face the two teams.

"So...I'm guessing you saw... _that_." He stated lamely.

"You bet! And I must say, Mama Yang likey. Where'd you get that killer strength from? I don't remember seeing anything like that in the last battle." Jaune's eyes darted to the ground.

"I got it from my dad." He clenched his fist and avoided eye contact.

"Ohh..." Yang instantly regretted that choice of words. She earned three punches in the arm from each of her teammates. "Ow!" And four in the other arm from Team JNPR, "Oh come on!"

"No. It's fine. Really, I just put my family in place of Velvet and...my body kinda moved on its own. Crazy huh?" Jaune joked.

"We all have moments like that, Jaune. It was admirable to see how you acted upon your resolve and doing what's right without hesitation." Blake complimented, "Although, you have to also know when to choose your battles, but that skill only comes with time and experience."

"Well, then I guess I'll just have to learn along the way. I hope my team doesn't hold too many grudges, I'll have to apologize to them later." Jaune scratched his cheek bashfully.

"You shouldn't have to apologize for anything. If there's going to be any apologizing, it's going to be to me! You didn't even break their legs!" Nora yelled out as the rest of the group laughed.

They left the cafeteria soon after.

* * *

They changed into their combat attire before coming to the arena. Joan and Jaune seemingly wearing opposite colored clothing.

Jaune wearing a black and orange hoodie while Joan wore a white and blue one. They both wore orange and blue forearm straps respectively along with fingerless leather gloves. Their jeans were practically identical but Jaune wore black sneakers while Joan wore white.

Jaune notably wore no armor, compared to Joan's chest plate and shoulder guards.

The 9 sat down together as Glynda Goodwitch began class, it was at this moment that Jaune remembered the slight warning about this class Goodwitch had given him. He immediately began to worry about his well being.

"The first two I would like to see today are Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos, please come down to the arena."

* * *

 **That's about it for this chapter, I tried to make it a bit more lighthearted than the last chapter. Another long fight coming next chapter, Jaune has no idea what he's up against here. Forgot to mention, please participate in the poll that's now on my profile.**

 **-DimensionBlade 1.2**


	4. Mix

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

 **Oh hey, I found my balls. Was wondering where those went all these months. I have to have some spares laying around somewhere.**

 **The last few paragraphs of this chapter were rewritten as to preserve the certain aura I wanted to keep to this story and keep it flowing as well as possible. Hope you all understand.**

Chapter 4: Mix (Edited)

Jaune stepped out onto the platform as Pyrrha stood on the opposite side. They faced each other and waited for the "go" as they stood in their respective stances.

Jaune had Lox Magnus in it's dagger form, held in a similar way as Weiss would hold her rapier, ready for a forward jab.

The sudden start was given and it seemed as though both fighters disappeared from sight. You could hear the metal ring on the far side as Jaune had made the first push, going on the offensive and keeping Pyrrha guessing.

Sudden movements were given here and there to advert Pyrrha's eyes.

 _'This is nothing like I've seen before. You won't learn anything like this from a combat school.'_ Pyrrha thought to herself. This style completely clashed with her tournament style mindset. She didn't make any effort to create room yet, hoping that Jaune would tire himself smashing away at her shield. Seeing as Jaune wore no armor, she couldn't influence his body in any way, she would have to go for his weapon directly. Getting her hands on it would be the first problem.

She wasn't given the chance as a strong force pressed down on her shield nearly pushing her off the stage before completely disappearing. Jaune had used her shield to launch himself backwards, a smile locked on his face and not much sweat at all.

Pyrrha shot her shield in Jaune's direction, forcing him to lean backwards slightly for the projectile to pass, straightening up only to see a sword point coming down. He quickly sidestepped to the left, quickly putting more room between the champion and himself. Pyrrha didn't let her offensive position falter, she kept up her attack similar to Jaune as he was forced to dodge. Somewhere in between the attacks, Jaune was pushed back far enough for the red-haired warrior to reclaim her shield.

After a couple good attacks, Jaune's aura was down to about 3/4 the full amount. Pyrrha came down with a slash, only for Jaune to lean forward, deflecting the attack with the large claymore on his back. In her small moment of shock, Jaune delivered a devastating elbow to her gut, sending her flying back a few feet. Pyrrha immediately regained her mind as she shot a bullet at Jaune's feet, slowing down his advance as she bashed him with her shield.

The attack sent him falling backwards and struggling to maintain balance, in that moment of vulnerability, Pyrrha smashed him across the face with a hard back fist, resulting in him flying straight to the ground. With that, the blonde's aura fell into the red as Pyrrha's sat just above half. The buzz alerted the students of the end of the match, followed by a wave of applause.

Jaune's hand found it's way to the back of his head as he smiled awkwardly, Pyrrha approached him and offered him a hand from his sitting position.

"Good match." She smiled.

"Yeah. I'll get you next time." He joked as he smiled back.

* * *

"Wait, Pyrrha won _what_ four times in a row?" Jaune questioned as he was enlightened by Weiss.

"The Mistral Regional Tournament. Haven't you ever heard of it?"

"Not an idea, but it sounds impressive at least."

"Your sister didn't have the slightest knowledge of it either." Weiss massaged her temples.

"Joan, isn't that the thing that Mia is always watching on TV?" Jaune asked his sister across the dinner table.

"I think so. Well, the point is, Pyrrha's really strong. You should be proud you even did that much on her." His twin responded.

"I guess." Jaune sighed.

"You did very well, Jaune. Don't be discouraged." Pyrrha chipped in.

"Thanks, Pyrrha. I'm not exactly used to fighting humans anyways. I guess that's kinda your specialty though, huh?" Jaune asked.

"You could say that." Pyrrha responded.

Dinner passed without a hitch before Jaune excused himself to find his team, the other teams understood and left him to his thing. Ren, Nora and Ruby also soon excused themselves to go to bed, leaving only Pyrrha, Yang, Blake, Nora, Joan, and Weiss.

* * *

Jaune knew something was up when his teammates were neither in the infirmary or their room. He began making his way all across campus, searching for his poor excuse of a huntsmen team. He soon stumbled across the library, where he saw the rabbit girl from earlier in the day.

He approached her slowly and tapped her on the shoulder, hoping to get her attention. She immediately jumped up, dropping the history book in her hand, turning to look straight into the deep blue eyes of Jaune, launching her into more shock.

She almost let out a scream before she pressed a hand to her own mouth and steadied her breathing.

"Are...you feeling ok? Did I scare you? Sorry." the words raced out of Jaune's mouth.

"No! No, it's fine. I was just surprised was all." the girl replied.

"Sorry about that. I just wanted to check on you, treating someone that way is in no way acceptable."

"It's not that bad. Thank you for worrying."

"Did...I step in when I shouldn't have?"

"That's not what I'm saying at all. It's just...it could've been much worse if you didn't help. I'm extremely grateful."

"It's what anyone should've done. Faunus or human. In any case, I have to make sure those guys aren't up to something stupid again. It was nice talking to you."

"Likewise..."

"Jaune. Jaune Arc."

"Likewise Jaune. I'm Velvet."

He offered a small smile before going on his way, she sat back down, a large smile now resting on her face as well. _"Jaune Arc..."_

* * *

Jaune turned another corner to find himself standing before the Headmaster himself, roughly stopping himself, he somehow avoided running the grey-haired man over.

"Headmaster, good afternoon."

"Please, Mr. Arc, I've been looking for you. There is a topic that I think you may find rather interesting." Ozpin stated as he pulled out his scroll from his jacket, opening a video. The video was lower quality and was obviously sent to him by someone, the video had telltale signs that it was stolen directly from a surveillance camera. "White Fang operatives have been sighted all across this range of warehouses near the port of Vale. Members from age 12 to 48 have been identified, 17 of which hailed from your village."

"I see. I'd like to investigate as soon as possible. Preferably tonight."

"Permission is granted, Mr. Arc. Although I will assign Team RWBY, JNPR, and CRAS to accompany you. The White Fang have been known to have quite the arsenal and soldiers after all."

"Understood Professor Ozpin. When will we leave."

"Approximately in 30 minutes. The teams have already been informed via student scroll. Something that you are still lacking. Which brings us to the second reason I've come to see you." Ozpin revealed a white scroll, identical to the ones the students were given. Handing it to Jaune. "This should be able to display the aura gauges of all your allies and their coordinates. Along with many other functions. Good luck, young man." The headmaster finished as he walked along the hallway back to his office.

Jaune took another good look at his scroll before placing it safely in the pocket of his hoodie.

 _"Showtime."_ He thought to himself jokingly.

* * *

The members of all three teams loaded onto two separate bullheads, Team JNPR splitting in half, Ren and Nora going with RWBY while Pyrrha and Joan go with CRAS. The bullhead with Team CRAS was rather silent as there was nothing to be said.

Cardin didn't want to risk pulling anything while both Pyrrha and Jaune were present. Sky and Russel knew their place as well, they had their pride at least.

At the press of a button, everything went wrong.

The right rotor immediately burst and the bullhead went spiraling into the nearby highway. The students could catch a glimpse of the other bullhead narrowly dodging a missile before everything went dark and a ringing in their ears became seemingly permanent.

* * *

"Ugh." Was all that was heard as Jaune threw a piece of rubble off of himself. The entire highway had collapsed, leaving them directly in front of the warehouse, and the uneven rubble had given the trucks inside a perfect path to escape.

He lifted himself off of the ground, spotting Pyrrha lifting a piece of concrete off of Joan's leg. The remainder of Team CRAS was unconscious, excluding Sky who was trying to crawl to safety, a trail of dirt in his wake, struggling to stay awake.

Joan was already a lost cause as The White Fang was already making their get away.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune yelled out, catching her attention. They made their way towards the trucks with a nod, hoping to intercept them before they took off. With their luck, as soon as they came into the vision of the driver, he slammed the pedal.

As the vehicle made right for them, Pyrrha, jumped to the side as Jaune jumped upwards. The truck passed right below him as he landed on the back platform, White Fang members were already there waiting for him. Pyrrha shot off, hoping to catch up to the truck as it slowed, hoping to take care of Jaune quickly.

Jaune flew to the ground to avoid bullets that were shot at him, sweeping the shooter's legs from below him, spinning upwards to deliver a kick to the female member standing nearby. Rebalancing himself, he turned and smashed the third member's mask with the handle of his gun.

Two trucks came from either side of the truck and began to add more players to the mix, Jaune struggled to hold them off as none of them were regular grunts. A fist found it's way to his stomach as he keeled over. Just then, Pyrrha came from above, a knee landing right in the face of the man that had punched Jaune.

They began their dual attack as a familiar bullhead pulled up from behind a skyscraper. The 6 students provided support from above, ranged attacks rained from the sky and gave the Fang living hell. Pyrrha was struck from behind by a sword, stunning her for just a moment before she returned the favor with a bullet to the face.

More members came from the sides, seemingly being suspended in air by jetpacks. They whirled left and right, landing dirty hits on Jaune and Pyrrha as the ranged students couldn't keep aim. The spartan eventually got tired of these tactics, throwing her spear directly into the tank of the pack, the flier spun into the platform of their very truck. Jaune went in for a kick when he was countered by a kick to his knee. Pyrrha came in for the assist as the other jetpack terrorist slammed her into the platform of the truck. She watched as Jaune, in his moment of vulnerability, was assaulted ruthlessly. More members came from the sky and brought the bullhead farther away from the area of action.

The two members of the White Fang took turns striking him flat onto his back. The grunt stomped on Jaune's chest before pulling out a magnum, placing 6 shots into Jaune's face before being tackled by Pyrrha. The grunt flew off the side without a jetpack as Pyrrha sat just on the edge of the moving vehicle. The last grunt went in to kick Pyrrha off when a sniper round nailed him in the chest and sent him tumbling off. A shard of ice then flew past Pyrrha, into the driver's window, piercing the steering wheel, the driver finally lost control, smashing into the truck to his right.

With a jump, Nora flew off of the bullhead and straight at them, smashing the final truck into the ground and grenade hopping towards the other two trucks spiraling towards another warehouse.

As the bullhead landed, Pyrrha could be found hovering over Jaune, who was obviously in intense pain. The crumpled bullets lay scattered around his head as his aura absorbed most of the damage and was already at work patching up the rest.

Yang quickly shot a menacing look at the unmoving driver. Making her way over to the drivers seat, the others followed her. She ripped the door open and threw the faunus onto the ground, tearing the mask from the man's face, revealing a tan colored man with narrow eyes and a flat nose. He feared the students like he had feared nobody else before.

"What have the White Fang been doing here at the warehouses." Yang questions, holding up a fist as if to punch a shotgun spread into his face.

* * *

 **Finally got around to this. Working on the new chapter five as well.**

 **Sorry for the wait.**

 **Chapter 5 should be expected in a week at the latest, sometime this weekend at the earliest. I've never been one for a good schedule.**

 **-DimensionBlade 1.2**


	5. Stress

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

 **Here we go, let's hope this turns out ok.**

Chapter 5: Stress

Pyrrha held two coffees in her hands as she walked into the training room the morning after. Joan sat on the bench idly, watching the others at work as she took a break from her own sets. The blonde's partner taking the seat next to her and offering a supporting smile.

"So...how's everyone been taking it?" Pyrrha nearly whispered as she lifted the mug to her lips.

"Well..." Joan seemed to pull on her collar nervously as the tense atmosphere seemed to finally crumble.

"UGH!" A masculine sound could be heard across the room, screaming in rage as a thundering clap could be heard. The punching bag in question stumbled into view, skipping across the floor as if it were a flat stone across a pond. Slowly, and almost methodically travelled with a _**thud, thud, thud.**_ Before finally collapsing to a depressing stop in corner, a trail of foam and such in its wake as the leather had been split open.

"Oh, hey. He finally broke it." Joan let out a sigh before lifting her own cup to her lips.

Another punching bag of similar build went zooming past, making no stops as it embedded itself in the opposite wall coming from the opposite side of the training room. The bag all but exploded as it made impact, the leather scorched and full of tears.

"...And that's Yang's thirteenth." The blonde girl's mouth pressed into a straight line as she tried to look anywhere but at the fellow blondes that seemed to need to vent their anger.

"It's...impressive that the school has the budget, I suppose." Pyrrha brought up with slight hope.

"Oh, no way. Weiss has been pulling out of her card for these. The academy would've charged these two into the ground otherwise."

The redhead let out an understanding "Ah.", before resuming to watch in peace with her partner. Today was, if nothing else, a peaceful day.

* * *

"Nora. You need to drag yourself out of bed eventually. Just because we do not have classes today does not mean you can just laze around. So, The White Fang were a dead-end, we always have other tries."

"Norraaaaaaaa." The bundle under the mound of sheets moaned. Ren simply brought a hand up to his face in frustration before finally submitting.

"I'll go and buy some pancake mix."

"Nora liiiiiike."

* * *

Cardin, Russel and Sky were holed up in Beacon's own infirmary with various injuries and concussions. The three had been knocked out of the fight before it had begun the night before, leaving them with no accomplishments, no results, and no drive to continue to pursuit of The White fang any further.

Cardin mumbled incoherently to himself as the other two seemed perfectly content with getting more rest before having to return to classes in a couple of day's time. The leader of the team simply sulked, basking in his eternal glory as the leader of the team who weren't the worst, but far from the best.

Almost as if he were some type of supporting character for the other students attending the school at the time.

No, that couldn't be it.

He continued to think, his fractured mind, and concussed brain leading him further down the path less travelled.

* * *

"I don't know, Oz. I'm just saying that all that dust has to be going somewhere. It's not showing up on the black market, which means someone is planning to make *use* of it." the scruffy man stood by Headmaster Ozpin's desk as they recounted the criminal activity leading up to the Vytal Festival.

"With our latest information, we can confirm that Torchwick and the White Fang are working together. The White Fang operatives that were taken in for questioning held out on a lot of information, however we were able to locate 2 safe houses, storing an immense supply of dust. I doubt that our confiscating of that much dust will hinder them much even then." Ozpin inquired.

"Then what do you suppose I do?" Qrow crossed his arms in front of him and turning to make direct eye contact with Ozpin, who simply sighed and commanded,

"Keep your eyes sharp, report back any other activity that may be of some concern. Perhaps in the less savory places in Vale, or even the completely abandoned."

"Roger that, Oz." the huntsman confirmed, turning to the window, before Ozpin spoke once more.

"Don't put yourself in any unnecessary danger, Qrow. You have nieces that care quite deeply for you."

Qrow scratched the back of his head with closed eyes, "I won't." he simply said before turning into a crow and flying off once again. Leaving the headmaster alone with a pile of information and leads, but no real solutions. The headmaster went back to work, but not without pouring himself another cup of coffee.

* * *

 _3 days later_

The two teams had once again gathered in the cafeteria after a day of classes, noting that Jaune had opted to sit with his team today.

Ruby rushed over to the table, placing down her plate and exclaimed, "I think it's time for some _team exercises_! We can't afford to be left in the dust when the Vytal Festival comes around, and maybe, kinda, if you want to, JNPR can join too?" the girl's confidence fading as she continued under the gaze of her friends. The silence lingered for a moment before Pyrrha cleared her throat, garnering the attention of the table.

"I think that's a wonderful idea, Ruby. If you'd have us, I believe Team JNPR would be happy to join." Pyrrha looked at her teammates, earning a 'affirmative' sign from each of them before smiling brightly.

"Oh! We should ask Jauney to join us–where is Jauney?" Nora started before noticing the boy was not with them as usual.

"He's over at the table with Team CRDL–I mean, CRA–" Joan cut herself off as she saw the team leave the cafeteria together and heading towards the training rooms themselves. "Never mind." Joan sunk into her seat dejectedly as the mood fell once more.

"Ah, I'm sure we'll run into him!" Pyrrha exclaimed, attempting to cheer up her partner. "When did you have in mind for this training, Ruby?"

"Oh, uh. I didn't think that far. Maybe...tonight?" The young girl attempted.

"When tonight, Ruby." Weiss pushed.

"Does..." Ruby looked down to her left wrist only to realize she didn't own a watch, "Six sound okay?"

"That gives us some time to prepare, I don't see why not." Ren agreed, the others at the table responded similarly before Ruby exclaimed,

"Awesome. See you guys tonight!" Before she dashed away, leaving her lunch right where she left it.

"Did she.." Weiss started.

"I'll bring her something later." Yang sighed before continuing to finish her lunch. The friends shared another laugh at her expense.

* * *

Ruby attempted to make herself as small as possible as she snuck into the stands of the training room that Team CRAS were currently using, working her way through the seats to peer at the training happening in the stadium. Jaune could be seen facing up against Cardin as the other two members spectated from the side, keeping tabs on their aura.

Cardin swung wide, a devastating attack were it to make contact. Jaune easily ducked under the mace, forcing himself into Cardin's guard and forcing the larger boy to defend. The dagger swipes did little against his leader's armor, so he began searching for chinks, joints, weak spots, whatever he could take advantage of. In his analysis, Cardin caught him slowing down, pushing him back with a mighty kick to the chest before preparing another mace swing.

Jaune rolled back, shifting his weapon and began firing rounds his opponent until he ran out of bullets. Cardin quickly closed the gap, forcing Jaune back, as he continued to dodge and parry hits from his resident heavy hitter. After a swing, Jaune grabbed onto Cardin's now vulnerable wrist with his free hand and fired a bullet into his armpit, staggering him.

 _"He saved a bullet, but made it seem like he ran out! He had this all planned!"_ Ruby gushed to herself, mentally taking notes of the mental battle.

Jaune would've been able to get a solid slash in with that opportunity, but he instead did the unpredictable. Cardin's eyes couldn't help but follow as the golden dagger found itself flying straight up into the air instead of at his throat, his arm still positioned by his face, ready to block. The world seemed to move in slow motion as his eyes widened at the tight grip Jaune had on his other sword, the claymore that he always carried but never drew. Panic set in, as he tried to lift his mace to counter, but it was already too late.

Jaune, with one quick movement, drew his father's claymore and swung with all his might, aiming for Cardin's open shoulder. The attack came swiftly and painfully as Cardin was forced to the ground, his mace clattering on the floor with him and rolling away a few feet. Cardin made to reach for it, but his opponents dagger landed tip first into the ground before his eyes as a sword rested just above his throat. He had lost.

A wolf whistle rang out in the training room, causing Ruby to let out a slight _"eep"_. The culprit being none other than her older sister, coming down the rows with a face splitting smile, having also witnessed the fight. "Nice fight, Lady Killer, didn't know you had it in you!"

All confidence that Jaune seemed to exhibit during the fight seemed to immediately fade as he startled, dropping the heavy claymore haphazardly onto the large boy beneath him, earning him a sharp glare. "Yang! What are you doing here?"

The girl wandered a bit in the stands, seeming to keep her hips in a steady rhythm as the rocked from side to side, making her way down, the boys gulped. "Oh, you know. Just her to pick up someone." The four started looking at each other before Yang reached down and grabbed hold of a red hood, a yelp could be heard from the stands.

 _"Another one?"_ Team CRAS thought in unison.

"Yaaang! I was gonna be back soon! I promise!" Ruby whined in a panic.

"Yeah yeah, but you shouldn't sneak off like that Ruby. What would I do if I found out you were sneaking off with some boy to have–"

"YANG!" The banter could be heard even as they left the room and began going down the hall, the older girl continuing to drag her sister by the cloak.

The boys looked at each other for a moment before Sky coughed and said, "So, call it a night?"

No one disagreed.

* * *

 **A bit of a shorter recollection chapter to slow down the momentum the story had for a bit. Give the kids a little more time to be kids.**

 **Please leave a review, and I'm still looking into editing and fixing earlier chapters, if you spot anything, let me know in the reviews or even PM me for me to make a hotfix to a typo or anything like that.**

 **-DB**


	6. Breathe

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

Chapter 6: Breathe

A beat rung in Jaune's ears as he fell. The wind rushed against the soft structures of his ears, his eyes closed offering no vision as white filled his world. Headfirst he descended from the long-standing clock tower and lower into chaos below. Grimm roamed the ruined Beacon, survivors were far and few between, they often stuck together.

Inhuman screams could now be heard as he came closer.

He was swept from the air by a nevermore before he hit the ground, flying with him in its beak before his eyes cracked open. Looking down, he saw Crocea Mors on his hip, Joan's weapon. He unsheathed it with a muscle memory that shouldn't have been there, the blade glowing slightly as he sent a slash through the beak of the creature that traveled through, bisecting the bird as it flew.

Jaune landed on the ground below softly, weightlessly, his eyes still half-lidded as he stared at the monsters now drawing their eyes to him. The shield now sprang to life in his arm as he dashed in.

He blocked a swipe from a beowolf as the blade slashed through an ursa completely, the shield turned to bash a charging boarbatusk off course as the sword beheaded the aforementioned beowolf. The blonde flipped backwards as the stinger of a deathstalker pierced his earlier position, his sword flying through the air and slashing through the stinger before he even touched the ground. Jaune charged forward as lightning, bashing the deathstalker, stunning it and destroying multiple eyes in the one action. The sword landed once again in his hand before finding itself drilled into the deathstalkers face, once again being lodged into the stomach of another ursa before the deathstalker had finished fading.

The shield went spinning in the air as the blonde gripped the sword with both hands, drawing a line through the field that traveled beyond his blade, a path of light that slashed through 7 lines of grimm. The shield neared the ground to catch a kick that sent it into the face of an Ursa Major, Jaune rushed forward again, gripping the shield once again before it met the ground and pushing the ursa backwards with the force of a thousand men. With a quick spin, his sword drew a line through the chest of the Ursa Major. Then another, and another, another, before the ursa could process that it was dead, the body sprayed out black from the incisions in its chest.

Jaune took another look around, the horde barely thinning, he lazily through his sword straight up into the air without looking as a nevermore found itself quickly plummeting to the ground, the sword now flew back into his hand, as if the metal belonged there all along. Jaune stared down at his hand, the newfound power that he somehow possessed, a power that wasn't his.

The faces of his friends flashed through his eyes.

Ruby, the innocent prodigy that struggled to prove herself worthy of being in this school, brought in two years early by the same man who had sought him out. The girl wore her signature color, red as she flashed through with her unbelievable speed.

He flashed forward, covering the entirety of the courtyard as all the grimm previously in his way began to crumble as he killed them all in an action nearly invisible to the eye.

Weiss, the young heiress that was kind, but too embarrassed to show it outwardly, covering herself in this shroud of cold that would push others away. White purity adorned her, and glyphs passed down through her family.

Jaune stared up, his hair falling down behind him slightly as he stared at all the glyphs in the air, a trump card he had long left there if he'd ever needed it. A short hop brought him up to one as it launched him into the air, letting his arms and legs spread out as he embraced the sky, the air not yet rushing against him, urging him to return to the ground.

Blake, who had so many secrets to keep that she tended to want to be alone. She read these books that made her look smart, but everyone had eventually found out they were just smut. Hidden in black shadows of her past, and running away leaving clones wherever she may have been.

The Jaune floating in the air slowly faded away as the true body was seen slashing away once again on the battlefield.

Yang, the extroverted, overprotective sister of Ruby who always had a joke lined up for every occasion. Sensitive, although never showing it and always keeping a smile about when possible. Yellow sunshine, growing stronger with every hit she took.

A grimm caught a claw on his shoulder just before being launched back by its own force, quick enough that it seemed as though the beowolf had been fighting itself the entire time.

 _"That's Team RWBY, my sister team in a way. I can't wait for you to meet them all when we come to visit."_

Joan.

Nora, always attached to the hip with her childhood friend, Ren. She was an unstoppable ball of energy that seemed to never slow down. Ren, the quiet and stoic. A complete 180 from Nora, his childhood friend. They were so different, but held onto the same pain together, it was as though everything would be okay as long as those two were together. Pink, and green. Maybe it was always just pink after all.

Joan.

Pyrrha, the ultimate champion and best partner ever. Always caught in the spotlight, wishing to be treated like a normal girl, but never being able to. Kept on a pedestal, but not to her friends. Red, the color of a champion I suppose.

Joan.

Jaune sent Crocea Mors. outwards, reaching out to grab them with an invisible force as they glowed slightly darker, the two metal objects swung in an ever-growing circle ripping apart the grimm that had come to surround their master. Pulling the weapons back to him, he sheathed them, stashing them back at his hip. Pulling out a yellow dust crystal from a pouch on his hip, he crushed it in his hand. Feeling his muscles rush to life, shaking his being and fueling him with unbelievable power. He jumped, sending him flying into the air, a shockwave cleared across the ground below him, catching himself on another glyph, he launched himself back to the ground.

A large group of grimm all but evaporated when he smashed into the middle of them, causing an earthquake that sent them all back to the spawning pools.

From the mist came a figure, a man who glowed white, opposite to the grimm. His head covered in a black hood, a white mask and armor decorated his body, the symbol of the white fang branded upon him. Horns were visible on his head, more resembling a demon than any type of animal.

The goliath of a man drew a colossal greatsword from his back, pointing the tip at Jaune, his expression neither angry or smug. Just empty, much like the one Jaune himself wore.

The faunus flew forward with vigor, but was easily batted away with a swipe from Crocea Mors. The hooded man gritted his teeth as he attacked again and again, clashing with the blade of the ancestral blade to no avail. He found himself being quickly pushed back by the opposing blonde, the grimm began to close in again, but Jaune seemingly just lost all color as the grimm only turned their gaze to the faunus. The fang was quickly losing hope as he was further overwhelmed, whenever the grimm seemed to draw close, they would die before reaching him. As though the blonde was telling them "This is _my_ prey."

The masked man finally hit a wall as he collapsed over onto his backside. Rested against the wall as the menace stood over him, dark pits of blue glared down with pure hate as Crocea Mors was drawn back, and quickly stabbed forward, finding its place in the faunus' chest cavity.

With a small glance down, Jaune realized that the faunus was gone. A lone blade left lodged in his own chest. He looked down at the blessed blade that had betrayed him, his shield falling to the ground as he let go of the handle of blade now draining him of life. He turned around, sitting himself in the place where he had planned to kill the White Fang member, finding himself looking up to a dark sky, blood leaking down his body as his aura refused to jump to life.

He slowly let his eyes drift closed as he finally let a smile draw itself across his lips.

 _"I'm coming, everyone."_

* * *

Jaune woke with a start, clutching at his chest, expecting to find the offending blade there. His team lay around him in their beds, peacefully sleeping. His heart pounded in his ears as a cold sweat surrounded his body. His breathing too quick to be healthy as he felt the urge to vomit. His eyes remained wide open, unable to blink as he stared down as his hands. His body sparked with his white aura, filling the entire room with light, but as he stared, he saw blood.

Blood staining his hands that he couldn't possibly wipe off, tears leaked down his face as he realized the dream he must've had. His mind wandered to his friends, those that had stood by him since he'd arrived at Beacon.

Squeezing his eyes closed, more tears dripped down onto his blanket before he buried his face in his hands.

He wouldn't be able to get anymore sleep, nor did he want to.

* * *

 **Something I came up with and really struggled to write to be honest. It never quite turned out to exactly what I wanted, but it's important, trust me. Just kinda hard to see, try squinting maybe?**

 **Hope you enjoyed.**

 **-DB**


End file.
